Daily News Notes

· Announcing the third quarter monetary policy and Giving priority to growth factor, RBI decided to reduce the cash reserve ratio (CRR) from 6.0% to 5.5% by which around 32,000 crore rupees of primary liquidity will be injected into the banking system. RBI also said through the multiplier effect, additional credit to the tune of 1.6 lakh crore rupees would be generated in the system over a period of time. In reducing the CRR, the Reserve bank has attempted to address the structural pressure on liquidity. However, it was premature to reduce rates on current inflation. The RBI has retained the repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) at 8.5 per cent, reverse repo rate stands at 7.5 per cent, the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate stands at 9.5 per cent and Bank Rate has been retained at 6.0 per cent. GDP forecast has been brought down to 7% from 7.6% earlier while the global growth during 2012 is expected to be lower than the International Monetary Fund’s September 2011 projection of 4.0 per cent. It’s expected that today's policy action and the guidance we have given, will result in the following three outcomes; 1^st, liquidity conditions will ease. 2^nd, down side risks to growth will be mitigated and 3^rd, medium term inflation expectations will remain anchored on the basis of a credible commitment. [Economic indicator]
· 24th January has been declared as National Girl Child Day. This year’s theme is ‘Declining Child Sex Ratio: Issues and Challenges’. The Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development asked for 3 ‘A;s for improvement in child sex ratio : A-Advocacy, A-Awareness, A Affirmative action.
· Ministry of Textiles makes the beginning this year by floating first Tableaux on Indian Handicrafts on the Republic Day parade. Handicrafts form a substantial part of Indian exports and their share in the exports is increasing each year. Indian Handicrafts sector emerged as one of the most important foreign exchange earners for the country. The tableaux will showcase the complete process of sourcing, manufacturing, retailing & export of handicrafts in different approaches. Their rich and diverse work needs to be depicted to the world.
· The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has established an added facility under MCA 21, integration with Trade Mark Authority recently. The added feature facilitates professional/ public to cross verify Company name before applying for ROC (Registrar of Companies) approval. In addition, the XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) reporting format has been introduced for filing of financial statements [Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Account] of select class of companies from FY 2010-11.
· While inaugurating the National Conference on Demand Side Management (DSM) in New Delhi, Secretary, Power Shri P. Uma Shankar has said that the schemes such as Bachat Lamp Yojana (BLY) and Standards and Labelling of electrical gadgets have helped in energy saving and there is a large scope for energy saving in the industrial sector, agriculture, municipal street lighting and pumping. He called upon the power utilities and regulators to work out strategies to save power. The objective of the conference is to promote Demand Side Management, energy efficiency and conservation by deployment of more efficient technologies, consumer education and demonstration of the benefits of DSM.
· In Assam, altogether 1695 militant cadres belonging to nine ethnic tribal ultra-group today surrendered before the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. The militant groups who laid down arms are already on ceasefire agreement with the Government. This is a historic occasion in the three-decade old insurgency for the State of Assam where a huge number of militants come forward for the peace process initiated by the Government.
· In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has announced a series of welfare measures for street vendors including Identity Card with all related information. In order to enable street vendors to carry out their business smoothly, a scheme to provide them loan on lower interest rate will also be chalked out. The state government will also set up a special police cell for street vendors in each district.
· In Nepal , the Tamang Community today is celebrating the New Year Sonam Lhosar by organizing various functions and exchanging greetings with each other.
· India and South Africa discussed the common areas of interest i.e. slum upgrading, affordable housing, community involvement in government programmes, urban employment programmes, rural housing for poor etc. It was agreed that the two countries will actively collaborate and share their experiences in the field of human settlements, skill development of urban poor etc. through mutual exchange programmes.
· The second edition of the Indo-US Printmaking Exhibition titled ‘Multiple Encounters’ was inaugurated. The exhibition is a display of the printmaking works of over 120 artists of repute from the USA and India. As printmaking is a form of art that has a universal appeal among artists of all genres, the works on display have been created by some of our legendary Indian masters such as Jyoti Bhatt, Somenath Hore, Dipak Banerji, and others of their category.
The 17th National Level Meeting between India and Myanmar concluded at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar last week. Recalling the traditionally close relationship between India and Myanmar, the leaders of India and Myanmar delegation expressed commitment to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in economic and developmental areas, closer people to people contact and maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border. Both sides discussed in detail security related issues like presence of Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) along Indo-Myanmar border, exchange of intelligence information and arms smuggling. Home Secretary especially mentioned that Indian Insurgent Groups are planning large scale disturbances in the forthcoming elections in 2012 in Manipur, thus sought Myanmar’s cooperation in dealing with the IIG’s activities. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the meetings of the Border Liaison Offices (BLO) to discuss measures for combating arms smuggling, drug trafficking, smuggling of wild life parts and other issues and it was decided that BLO meetings be held more frequently. It was agreed to establish a new BLO at Ukhrul (India)- Somra (Myanmar).